


coincidence

by rexflame



Series: CFV Fantasy AU [3]
Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-16
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2018-02-04 20:16:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1791859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rexflame/pseuds/rexflame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>co-in-ci-dence, n. - a remarkable occurrence of events or circumstances without apparent casual connection.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. a simple meeting, nothing more.

**Author's Note:**

> whew, this is the first big project i've started in a while! anyway, this is a fantasy au, the thing that started all my other cfv fantasy au fics. the focus is misakou, but there will be some other characters showing up. thank you to skarmory for beta reading!

She absolutely hates crowds.

It's not really the existence of crowds that bothers her as much as the people. Indeed, moving her way through the crowded marketplace square has proven to be a challenge; she's nearly dropped her newly-acquired spellbooks more times than she can count, to say nothing of the other miscellaneous objects she's picked up. In an attempt to not drop anything, she clutches her books closer to her chest and quickens her pace; the overcast clouds overhead don't bode well for ancient texts, after all. But the attempt is made in vain; in her rush a bag topples from her hands, spilling cloth and fruits over the dusty ground.

While it is risky to stop in the middle of a flowing crowd, she has to retrieve her objects; and so, with a resigned sigh, the purple haired sorceress crouches down and begins to gather up the discarded items. As she is moving, she sees someone approach; another pair of hands reach for her stuff, and she's just about to snap at the thief when she realizes they're simply putting the items back into her bag. She mumbles a quick thanks as she hurries to move faster, although the crowd has already parted around them (some people shoot them nasty glares, but she doesn't really pay that much mind).

"Thank you," she says again, looking up to see the stranger's face, but they are already walking away; the only thing she catches is a glimpse of flowing blonde hair, pinned up on the side, and gleaming armor that's hard to stare at even with the overcast sky hanging overhead.

She hurries on her way home, then, careful not to drop her goods again. And yet, although it was simply a chance meeting in the market, nothing more, the stranger weighs on her mind. As if they might meet again.

She dismisses it, and pushes the whole day to the back of her head.


	2. the path by the river.

The next day, she finds that maybe she shouldn't have dismissed herself so quickly after all.

She starts her morning routine normally enough; tidies up her kitchen, makes herself some tea, tends to the plants that she didn't _really_ want but ended up having because she was best at healing and plants were good for healers, and puts herself into her pale blue attire that shows that she's a magician recognized by the state, for excelling in healing magics. The sleeves are a bit too long for her, she notices dully (and how she'd never noticed before, she doesn't know). Long sleeves aside, she picks up her key-shaped necklace from where it rests on the counter beside the door, pulls it over her neck, and steps into the bustling city.

Even in early morning, it is crowded; it takes a lot of skill to navigate the crowds without dirtying her pristine robes. However, her destination is not a far one; her steps quickly take her to the knight's guild. She is not a knight, of course, but there are always employment options for magicians, and while she is not poor, she isn't exactly rich either.

She steps inside quickly; the oaken doors are heavy, and it takes a few moments for her to push them open. Once she gets inside, she immediately heads over to the quest board, where another figure stands, already looking at the postings. Ignoring them, she settles beside them and looks at the postings, and hey, that looks like a pretty simple job, just clear the river path of goblins, and she's a supporter anyway- she reaches for the posting, and the girl beside her reaches for the posting, and their hands collide.

"You."

It's one word from the other and it takes her a moment to recognize them; the girl from yesterday, she realizes. It's the hairstyle that gives her away, a wild one as it is.

"Are you taking this job?" is all the cleric says.

"Yes."

"Good. I'm joining you."

It's not an offer as much as a statement.

"You're a… healer?"

Brilliant green eyes graze over her too-big uniform, and suddenly she feels just a little bit self conscious. 

"Right. Misaki Tokura."

She offers the other a hand in greeting; if they're going to be working together, she figures she might as well introduce herself. The other takes her hand with a small nod and a smaller smile, and she can feel strength in the blonde's grip. 

"Kourin. Kourin Tatsunagi."

"Nice to meet you," she replies cordially, and then turns back to the posting.

"There's no specific time for this to be filled. What do you say we start right away?"

"Sounds fine by me," Kourin replies, tugging the posting off the board and slipping it into a pouch around her waist. Misaki catches herself watching every movement, the fluidity of her motions, the way her left hand settles on her sword hilt--so she's left handed?

"You know where the river path is?"

"Of course," she replies, running a hand through her purple locks, a slightly miffed expression on her face; anyone who had lived in the city for more than three or four years knew where the river path was. 

Once a frequently traveled path, the area had been abandoned when goblins had taken the winding road by the river as theirs. While it was a shorter route to the nearest city, few travelers dared walk upon it now, save for those with hired knights at their side, or knights themselves. She had heard many a rumor of naive travelers taking what seemed to be a harmless shortcut only to end up killed, or perhaps worse, eaten. 

A shudder passes through her body as she remembers some of the rather graphic descriptions she had heard. Having a perfect memory has its downsides, indeed. But now is not the time to be dwelling on rumors. She has already agreed to do the job, and hopefully it wouldn't be all too difficult. 

"Are you coming?"

Quickly, she realizes that her new partner has already made her way to the oaken doors that mark the entrance to the guild; a small embarrassed flush raises on her cheeks as she hurries over. A bad first impression, indeed!

The sunlight that meets her eyes seems brash and glaring compared to when she first stepped inside; a hand raises to shield her eyes, and from the corner of her eyes she notices Kourin doing the same. Subconsciously, she lifts her free hand to her necklace and rubs her thumb in small circles over the copper key that hangs there even as they move through the city, dodging through crowds. Apparently, even being a knight is not nearly enough to get crowds to part for you.

When they finally do make their way to the edge of the city, she's already tired out from all the crowds. A heavy breath escapes her lips as they stop for a moment beside the gates. Kourin looks at her with an eyebrow cocked and a somewhat amused expression on her face; quickly, she rights herself and brushes off her blue uniform although there's nothing really dirty on it. The blonde shrugs and raises a hand to the gatekeeper; the gate begins to rise with a rather weary-sounding creak. Misaki can't help but look on in awe; it's very rare than any ordinary citizen gets to have the gate raised for them, and she hasn't been on an out-of-city mission in a while.

And then a wind blows in her face.

A strong gust, coming from the nearly opened gate, nearly toppling her over in its intensity. As it is, she staggers a step backwards, her pale hair now thoroughly a mess. Then she hears a laugh, a sort of musical chord that sounds a little awkwardly pitched and cracked, like the owner doesn't laugh much. It takes her a second to realize it's Kourin who's laughing, and then she too bursts into laughter, because it really is ridiculous that she was nearly taken down by a gust of wind. It takes a few minutes, but eventually they settle down and lock eyes, green meeting blue, and nod.

"Watch my back?"

"One step ahead of you."

Indeed, she has already formed a ball of icy and cold wind around her hand; while healing is what she excels in, she's not all too shabby with ice-related magics. Energy pulses through her body as she sustains the spell, a feeling that she hasn't felt in a while; it exhilarates her and makes her want to run forward then and there, but she is a sort of rear-guard (and that would make the knight a sort of vanguard, yeah?)

"Let's go."

They move cautiously immediately after they leave the city, even though the path doesn't truly begin for a few minutes' walk; it never hurts to exercise caution, they reason. There are a few straggling goblins about, ones which they dispatch quickly and establish a sort of harmony while they do so; Misaki freezes them, and Kourin dispatches them. They don't speak the strategy aloud, they simply _do_ it. 

Then the path begins.

There's a huge sign, engraved with olden runes that she can only read from her studies of ancient texts. Beside her, the knight drops out of her usual stance for a moment to peer at the sign; obviously, she is not familiar with runes.

"Runes."

"What?"

"The sign. They're ancient runes," she explains quickly, tone not in the least condescending.

"Oh. I've never seen ones like these before," Kourin remarks nonchalantly, and she wonders if the whole thing was just to diffuse the tense mood.

"Let's keep going."

"Right."

They move onto the path slower than they moved before; their footing is more precise, every step filled with trepidation. Every creak of the overhanging willows, every splash of the river water, nearly sends their tense bodies into a panicked frenzy. As it is, it is taking all of her willpower not to flinch at the little disruptions in the environment around them. Her body turns as she walks, putting her at an angle to her partner; one which she can more easily watch her back. A shaky breath draws in, exhale--cast.

Ice spins from her fingers as a pack of goblins leap from the shadows, pulling into a tight circle around them. Behind her she can hear the clang of metal on metal, but her focus remains with her own fight. It doesn't take her long to realize that she's outmatched, though.

"Kourin!"

"What?" 

The knight spins around quickly just as Misaki takes another step backwards, nearly toppling both of them over. A shaky sigh escapes her lips, but the relief is only momentary when she realizes the goblins are pressing closer to them. Immediately, she leaps into action once more, stepping forward to instinctively protect her partner. 

She nearly drops her sword, though, when it suddenly bursts into flames.

Blue flames encase her silver blade, and the fire is so sudden that she nearly shouts, but she realizes quickly it's only her partner, helping her out. From there, it is a simple matter to dispose of the goblins; her fiery sword swings in a wide arc, burning a destructive path. 

After the last one is felled, it takes her a moment to truly realize the fight is over; she simply stands there panting, her sword hanging aimlessly at her side as the smaller one runs to her side, an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry, I'm not much of a fighter. Were you hurt?"

"I didn't know you could do that," is all she receives in way of reply.

"You didn't ask," Misaki replies flatly, as if they haven't known each other for only a day.

"How silly of me. Of course I should've asked if you knew how to make my sword burst into flame."

The reply makes a small smile crawl onto both of their faces; however, they quickly remember where they are and the threats that lurk around them, and they resume their back-to-back stance once more, pressing onwards through the path. There are no more organized groups that attack them, only a few stragglers, and it doesn't take long to dispatch the remainders.

"That's it?" Kourin says when they haven't been attacked for nearly fifteen minutes (she's been counting the seconds in her head.)

"I suppose so," the mage replies, casting another glance around the clearing in which they'd decided to wait in.

"Wait. Wouldn't they have a leader?"

The blond shrugs.

"I dunno. They aren't the smartest."

"I suppose," she says with a frown, but the thought still troubles her.

"Let's head back."

She nods, pushing her hair back over her shoulder as she waits for the knight to sheathe her sword. Once the simple act is done, they head back down the path; a much quieter walk than the one they'd just taken, to be sure. However, that doesn't last.

They are just about to the runed signpost when they are attacked again; this group, however, has a clear leader. The leader that Misaki had just brought up in conversation not even fifteen minutes before.

A curse drops from the knight's mouth as she unsheathes her sword, moving quickly to arm herself. Their gazes meet and the warrior nods, and her sword is once more aflame with a blue blaze. The magician steps backwards to allow her partner more room to fight; she keeps an icy spell prepared in one hand and a soft blue spell of healing in the other, though. 

This fight isn't going to be easy, Kourin realizes as she steps forward towards the head goblin. There is a clarity in its eyes that isn't in the eyes of its henchmen; a look of intelligence. Thankfully, it does not have many cronies with it (and she hopes that her partner can dispatch them). Her and the large creature stand still for a few moments, sizing each other up, and then she moves.

She has not been taught to rely on strength; she was never the strongest warrior. But her speed can well make up for that fact, and in this case, she certainly hopes it does. Rather than run towards the goblin, she darts past him, skidding in the dust and making a quick turn and thrust, hoping to stab the beast through the back. However, she is only met with a clang; a crude axe parries her blow. In normal circumstances she perhaps would have tried to disarm him, but seeing as her sword is on fire, she disengages him and strikes for the weapon's handle. 

Her blow is a success, and her adversary drops the now- burning piece of wood. However, she isn't out of the woods yet; massive fists, reinforced with some sort of alloy, come crashing towards her, and she barely manages to spare herself from taking the full brunt of the blow. As it is, one grazes her side, and stabbing pain hits her every time she steps. Her eyes glance away for a moment, looking pleadingly towards her partner, but the pale-haired girl is distracted with enemies of her own. So she grits her teeth and surges forward, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she makes a desperate thrust.

Her blow hits home.

The goblin groans and stumbles backwards, collapsing onto the ground as she pulls out her sword with a sickening wet sound. The creature shudders once before going still and beginning to dissipate back into whatever dark material it formed from. 

As quickly as it came, the adrenaline rush leaves her, filling her with only pain. Black spots dance in front of her vision, and she staggers forward, drops to her knees, and just before her consciousness leaves her she hears someone shout "Kourin!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't expect a regular update schedule for this, but i'm shooting for once a week!


End file.
